The US Capitol, East Front. (Photo: Architect of the Capitol)
Nov. 15, 2023 by David Silverberg
Southwest Florida’s congressional representatives split yesterday, Nov. 14, when voting for a measure to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.), voted against it. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.) voted for it.
The measure, House Resolution 6363, funds some government agencies through Jan. 19, 2024 and others through Feb. 2. The bill, a continuing resolution (CR), allows the government to keep functioning past its previous deadline of this Friday, Nov. 17, at midnight.
The bill passed by a vote of 336 to 95, with 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans approving it. Ninety-three Republicans and 2 Democrats voted against it.
Donalds and Steube are both members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, which came out against the measure.
Prior to the vote Steube posted on X: “We cannot continue to spend ourselves into oblivion. The Republican House is the only chance our country has in getting back on a fiscally responsible trajectory. The Senate surely isn’t going to do it and this White House wants more spending without offsets. We must stand for spending cuts, not CRs.
“We must stand with the American people and not compromise our principles. For that reason, I will NOT support the CR to continue Nancy Pelosi’s reckless spending. We must stand and stand firm.”
(For the record: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-11-Calif.) is no longer in the Democratic congressional leadership. She was one of three members who did not vote on this measure. The other two, Reps. Jacob Auchincloss (D-4-Mass.) and Mike Quigley (D-5-Ill.), did not vote in order to protest the absence of funding for Ukraine in the bill.)
As of this writing neither Donalds nor Diaz-Balart had issued explanations of their votes on any online platform.
Funding for Ukraine, Israel and other defense and foreign policy purposes will be presented in a separate bill.
The bill has now been sent to the Senate where it is expected to swiftly pass and be sent to President Joe Biden for signature.
Liberty lives in light
© 2023 by David Silverberg